Mirror, Mirror
by Procrastinator-starting2moro
Summary: Kidnapped from the library by James Potter, Lily Evans is put in front of the Mirror of Erised and asked one simple question: what desire does she see in the reflection? One shot.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Mirror, Mirror

Her eyes shifted left, then right, coming to the conclusion that the amount of eerie, spine chilling silence that was in the room was something she previously thought belonged in horror films. Unfortunately, it appeared as though the Hogwarts library was the perfect setting for a terrifying motion picture.

Lily Evans rolled her eyes to herself, paying no heed to the worrying sensation in the pit of her stomach. Biting on the end of her quill, she continued to ponder over the words of the lengthy book she was reading. It was only until she heard a loud creak of a footstep that she nearly shoved the quill she was biting up one nostril, whipping round. Of course, no one was there, and she leant on the back legs of her chair to peek out into the passage of bookcases.

Much to her concern, the librarian was nowhere to be found in front of her desk by the entrance, but Lily merely thought the barmy woman was busying herself elsewhere in the library, petting books or putting particular ones back into alphabetical order after Sirius Black had jumbled them up for a laugh. She'd entered the library when it was empty, and liked to think that it still was, as her eyes skimmed the room. However, that worrying sensation in the bottom of her stomach just wouldn't going away. Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear - a force of habit, especially when she felt uneasy - her eyes fell upon her book again. Another loud creak and her head shot up. She spun around on her chair, gripping the page of her book in apprehension, crinkling it a little (something she was normally against - page crinkling).

"Who's there?" she demanded.

As expected, the occupant of the creak did not answer, and Lily was mighty sure there was an occupant because such loud creaks were not summoned out of thin air. Debating whether to grab for her wand, her gaze came across a floating book. Her brow knotted, and she watched the piece of literature slide off the bookshelf and open itself up. The pages were flicked through briefly, before slamming shut again, and replaced on the shelf once more. It happened again, next with another book, but instead of slotting neatly onto the shelf it fell clumsily to the floor, followed by one word: "Bugger!"

"Um…" Lily was rather confused by what she was seeing. "Peeves?" she guessed, though, truth be told, she knew it couldn't have been that particular ghost, as he made louder, showier entrances. He would've at least pelted a book at her forehead by now.

Expecting the dropped book to magic itself back onto the shelf, Lily was surprised to see it move across the floor, as though it had been kicked. Just as Lily was about to order the invisible stranger to tell her who they were, a piece of cloth - a blindfold, to be specific - materialized out of nowhere and covered her eyes. She tried to tug it off at once.

"_What is going on_?" she screeched.

"Sorry, Lily."

She instantly recognized the voice, her mouth twisting into a frown of displeasure.

"P-Potter?" she stammered. "Potter, what the _hell _are you _doing?_"

She shot up from her chair, stumbling blindly, still trying to pry off the blindfold with her fingertips.

"Get this bloody thing off me! Potter! Potter, what are you—_mmhfghmm_!"

A palm covered her mouth, and she screamed against the hand as she felt herself being lifted in the air and over what she guessed was James Potter's shoulder. James carried Lily out of the library, both invisible with help from his beloved invisibility cloak.

For some reason, Lily didn't think James had kidnapped her from the library due to too much studying.

After ten minutes, Lily had given up yelling at James to let her go, sulking as James continued to carry her over his shoulder. She was, however, enjoying kicking out her legs, smiling in satisfaction whenever one of her feet connected with his midsection.

"Stop that," James warned her, after she booted him in the stomach for the tenth time.

"Where are you even taking me?" she questioned with the blindfold still over her eyes.

"Just wait and see."

"Wait and—_wait and see_! Potter, you've practically kidnapped me!" She hit his back with her fists. "This is abduction! Let me go!" She grabbed hold of his trouser belt, and pulled on it furiously, and James squeaked uncomfortably, the specific uncomfortable feeling coming from inside trousers, as Lily was on the verge of giving him a wedgie.

"Bloody hell—Lily, stop it!"

Lily ignored his wishes and yanked his belt upwards again, smiling wickedly.

"Seriously, Lily, stop it, as I have certain access of slapping your bottom now in this position I'm holding you in. So I advise you to leave the belt alone."

Lily immediately let go of his belt. However, she did return back to kicking him in the tummy in an immature fashion.

"Where are you taking me, Potter? Potter, are we lost? You've been walking the same stretch of corridor three times now!"

"Just the precise amount of times to get into the Room of Requirement."

Lily did not like the sound of that. "The Room of the _what_? Potter! Potter, let me go this instant!"

She heard the sound of a door creak open and shut, which she could only assume meant they'd entered some new, unfamiliar room - this "Room of Requirement" James had mentioned. Finally, she was lifted off James' shoulder and placed upright. A pair of hands on her hips stabled her, and Lily, guessing who they belonged to, slapped them away with a scowl, making James chuckle in response. When the blindfold was lifted off her eyes, she intended to launch into an angry lecture directed at James. To her surprise, he was nowhere to be found.

"Potter?" Lily spun in a circle, discovering she was alone. She was beyond mad that she'd just been kidnapped and couldn't even tell off her kidnapper.

She inspected the small, oblong room. The walls were mysteriously blank which thoroughly unnerved her. Spotting a nearby door and figuring it was the way out, she walked over to the door reached out to turn the handle when suddenly something caught her eye. Gazing at the other side of the room, she discovered what looked to be a mirror.

_Don't get distracted, Lily, _she told herself, making for the door again.

Just as she was about to turn the handle a second time, she froze, feeling her gaze being magnetized back to the mirror. There was just something oddly mystifying about it, and Lily could tell it was no ordinary mirror, being placed in such a bizarre room. It almost seemed to call her over to it. Taking one last glance at the door, her hand fell from the handle, completely absorbed by the mirror. Slowly, she made her way over to it in smooth, soundless steps.

Once she was in front of the mirror, her eyes quickly locked on to the inscription: _erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_. Her brow furrowed; what gibberish was that? A made up language? An anagram, perhaps? She would have spent time deciphering the message until her eyes finally fell upon the actual reflection.

A gasp escaped her mouth as she took a faltering step backwards. The gasp evolved into an even more surprised squeak as she stumbled back into someone - a particular James Potter someone - and she bumped into his chest. She shivered pleasantly as she felt his warm hands touch her shoulders and the tip of his chin nestle the crook of her neck.

"What do you see?"

Her heart beat faster and she tried extremely hard to focus on James' question, staring intensely at the reflection in the mirror.

"What am I supposed to see?" Lily swallowed. She could feel James smile against her skin.

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts."

This discovery was not good news to Lily's ears and she noticeably swallowed again, not daring to look him in the eye. "W-what do _you _see?" Lily turned the question on him, an attempt of getting attention off herself.

"I see us."

Lily had been afraid of that answer.

"I see us," James continued softly, "married, with kids, a big house… me loving you, and you loving me back…" Finally their gaze met as Lily turned her head slightly to stare at him, as though she were truly seeing him for the first time. "What do you see?" he asked Lily again, with a knowing smile.

"I see…" She turned to stare at the mirror once more. "I see…" she tried again, but paused, her voice and her body shaking. "I see… myself as Mistress of Magic," she answered quietly.

Lily could feel James stiffen coldly against her, though a chuckle left his mouth soon afterwards. Lily didn't see what was so funny.

"You don't see that," James said. Lily was about to reply with a confident, "I'll have you find that I do," when all coherent thoughts left her brain as James unexpectedly began kissing her neck.

"P-Potter." She blushed, embarrassed her breathing was coming out in small pants from what he was doing to her. "Potter, what are you doing?" she questioned, but by no means stopped him. She stood rigidly, unsure what to do, until she let out a murmur of satisfaction as he moved away from her neck and onto her lips. Before long, the kiss deepened, and the two of them staggered backwards until James had Lily pinned against the mirror.

"Tell me you see the same image I do." James' eyes glinted as he traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb.

"I…" Lily shut her eyes and touched her forehead with his. She opened her eyes again and looked apologetically at him. "I'm so sorry, I don't."

"Lily…"

James tried to seize her hand but she was already making her way for the door, her footsteps echoing loudly as she crossed the hollow room.

"Lily," he tried again. "Lily, I know you're lying."

She glanced back at James with a sad, watery smile. Her eyes locked onto the reflection of the mirror once more before she exited the Room of Requirement, leaving James to sigh and lean his back against the Mirror of Erised, not wanting the taste of Lily Evans to ever escape his lips.

Once Lily left the room and entered the corridor of the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy, she collapsed against the nearest stretch of wall, slowly sliding down it until she was sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as she willed herself not to cry.

She had seen _exactly _what James had seen in the mirror. The problem was that she saw that same image everyday; in the reflections of windows, spoons, in _his _stare…

The pure quandary of it all was that Lily Evans had a replica Mirror of Erised on the inside of her eyelids.


End file.
